# Real Numbers

| Data Type | Size     | Size (Not Null) | Synonyms            | Precision | Syntax |
| --------- | -------- | --------------- | ------------------- | --------- | ------ |
| FLOAT     | 4 bytes  | 4 bytes         |                     | 23 bits   | FLOAT  |
| DOUBLE    | 8 bytes  | 8 bytes         | REAL                | 53 bits   | DOUBLE |
| DECIMAL   | see note | see note        | DEC, FIXED, NUMERIC | 65 digits |        |

> **📝 Note**: The space consumed by the DECIMAL data type varies with the precision and scale arguments. The syntax for defining a DECIMAL (or its synonyms DEC, FIXED, and NUMERIC) is in the form DECIMAL(P,S) where P is the total number of digits (precision) and S (scale) is how many of those digits appear after the decimal point. For example, DECIMAL(10,5) will store numbers with 5 digits before the decimal and 5 after.For optimal query performance, use 18 total digits or less for the DECIMAL or NUMERIC data types. The correct syntax is DECIMAL(18,S) or NUMERIC(18,S).The formula for the number of bytes used to store a decimal value is (ceil((P - S) / 9) + ceil(S / 9)) \* 4. So, for our example, it would be (ceil((10 - 5) / 9) + ceil(5 / 9)) \* 4, or 8 bytes.

> **📝 Note**: For FLOAT and DOUBLE, precision refers to the number of bits in the significand.

## Working with Floats and Doubles

`FLOAT` and `DOUBLE` represent approximate values and SingleStore follows IEEE 754 standards ([see `FLOAT`](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single-precision_floating-point_format) | [see `DOUBLE`](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-precision_floating-point_format)) for floating point numbers.

The precision listed in the Real Numbers table refers to the number of bits used to store the significand. For `FLOAT`, 23 bits is about 6 digits. For larger numbers (up to 53 bits) use `DOUBLE`, which stores up to 17 digits.

Numbers exceeding the precision of the data type are rounded according to the IEEE 754 standard when entered. For example:

```sql
CREATE TABLE rn_t (id float);
INSERT INTO rn_t VALUES (1234567);
INSERT INTO rn_t VALUES (123.4567);

```

```sql
SELECT * FROM rn_t;


```

```output

+---------+
| id      |
+---------+
| 123456  |
| 123.457 |
+---------+
```

> **⚠️ Warning**: Avoid using the `=` or `!=` comparison operators on `FLOAT` columns in `WHERE` clauses due to the potential inaccuracy of the `FLOAT` data type. It's best to limit using `>` or `<` comparison operators on `FLOAT` columns.

***

Modified at: March 8, 2024

Source: [/db/v9.1/reference/sql-reference/data-types/real-numbers/](https://docs.singlestore.com/db/v9.1/reference/sql-reference/data-types/real-numbers/)

(An index of the documentation is available at /llms.txt)